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He was born in the back hills of Northern Arizona, hunting and riding horses with his father and siblings. Born within him was a love for God, family and freedom. "We need to put God first in our lives, strengthen our families, and fight to restore our freedoms." LaVoy Finicum

This is a two-part update on the death of rancher LaVoy Finicum at the hands of the FBI and Oregon State Police. Western ranchers had gone to Oregon in support of the Hammond family. Their peaceful protest was labeled by law enforcement and some elected officials as domestic terrorism. Federal statutes were used to prosecute western ranchers who were trying to bring national attention to the overreach of federal agencies in taking western ranchers' leases.

(The following article was sent to me anonymously. It’s a timely, accurate, and thoughtful essay that needs to be read by every American.)

Are you aware that we the people are under assault in this country? Maybe not you personally, yet, but when one group of patriots in America is deprived of their freedoms guaranteed to them by the Constitution, it's a hostile invasion of all who stand for liberty. And that is what happened to the ranchers in Harney County, Oregon, in the past weeks, and in Nevada before that. There is a systematic taking of our precious liberties.

Why does no one seem to care?

Where is the media on this? Where are the folks who are focused on restoring our trust lands across the western United States? Are we to sit and watch those among us get incarcerated for ranching? For peacefully protesting the egregious treatment they have received from their own government, for years?

We know that these lands do not belong to the federal government. The federal government manages those lands for we the people under contracts that were supposed to be assigned back to the states years ago. The federal government contracts grazing leases to local ranchers. These grazing leases abut the ranches owned by private citizens of the United States. These ranchers, by and large, are good stewards of the lands they lease to use for grazing. But they are methodically being deprived of the use of the lands owned by we the people, even with legal leases to do so. In Oregon, the Burea of Land Management (BLM) is burning grazing land that is under lease to ranchers for grazing their cattle, and the BLM is burning the cattle, homes, and corrals in the process.

If you haven't been following the Hammond case in Harney County, Oregon, click HERE for the timeline, dating back to the 1970’s, of the cruel and corrupt methods used by both the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to drive this family, and many other ranchers, off their land. Click HERE for a Simple Action You Can Take to Help the Hammond Family.

Ask yourself: Why are we hearing about so many more catastrophic fires ever since--thanks to the environmentalists and federal agencies--private cattle ranchers and lumber operations have been driven off the land? Add to this that the federal government controls 3 out of every 10 acres of land in America and is power hungry for more. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said the government’s “massive” control over land has preserved less than 1 percent of endangered species and instead harmed individuals whose livelihoods depend on land ownership.

Oregon ranchers Steven Hammond and his father Dwight were sentenced in June 2012 as “Arsenal Terrorists.” The maximum punishment for this federal crime is death. So, what did these ranchers do to warrant their time in prison, and the likelihood that they will be imprisoned again?

Keep Sedona Beautiful has been using the Transfer of Public Lands movement as a reason they are proposing and promoting the Sedona Verde Valley Red Rock National Monument. This update is to inform you that the perception that transferring public lands to the state would encourage the sell-off of our open spaces to developers is wrong. Such a perception is not being promoted by those who are involved with this movement.

I have included below a Public Policy Statement ratified by unanimous consent on October 9, 2014, at the American Lands Council multi-state workshop. American Lands Council has been a leader in the Transfer of Public Lands movement. (Click HERE to download the Public Policy Statement.)

The policy statement lays out clearly the motives and desires of those who want to fulfill the contract the Federal Government made with the state of Arizona on Statehood Day, February 14, 1912. Section 4(iv) of the policy statement says: “Retain Public Ownership of Public Lands: Federal public lands shall become state public lands to be managed in accordance with state and local plans;”

Only 17% of Arizona is privately owned. How much do you pay in property taxes? Through PILT (payment in lieu of taxes), the federal government pays Arizona about $1.10 per acre for our public lands. That $1.10 per acre is what some Democrats call "largesse." So, just remember the reason our children have have less money for education than other states. We're sacrificing them for "the public good."

Money should not buy an election, but if the grassroots doesn't step up to help Dr. Ralph Heap right now, Bob Worsley will buy his way to victory in LD25! Worsley, the incumbent whose voting record in the Arizona Senate earned him the rating of "Hero of Big Government" by Americans for Prosperity, is paying young people to go door to door signing up early ballots and targeting Independents. Worsley is also advertising on prime time FOX with Jeff Flake advertising for him.

Early ballots are only a little more than 30 days away! The Primary is Critical. If you thought about helping Dr. Heap, NOW is the time to do it. After the primary, the election is over. So we have just 30 days or we have missed the chance to make a difference, and this is one of the most important races in the state. Bob Worsley voted for Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, Common Core, Funding Abortion Providers, and he defeated a bill (HB2700) that would have helped us recover state lands acquired by the federal government. He has repeatedly voted with the Democrats.

Your help is urgently needed now! Please contact Dr. Heap's campaign and help with phone banking!

Vicki Cool, a precinct committeeman with the Gila County Republican Committee, recently wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Payson Round-Up. It was published on April 25, 2014.

Dear Editor:

Only Fox News covered the Bundy/Nevada controversy, but told only half the story. There are 11 states in the West that never got their land after they got statehood. Arizona is one of them.

If this is an issue you care about, go to info@americanlandscouncil.org or call 801-ALC-6622.

You might consider how those who live in New York would pay for their schools if 80 percent of their land was owned and mismanaged by the Forest Service or BLM. Have you ever heard of PILT (payment in lieu of taxes)? They are made by the federal government to the states and are a fraction of what taxes would be were the land held in private ownership.

I guess those of us who live in the West are considered to be too inept to manage and profit from our own land. Perhaps we need to have all western lands covered with those lovely windmills and solar panels. Of course we will get to live with the desert tortoise and Mexican wolves. Those mistakenly endangered species will determine the use of our lands: no copper mining, no lumbering, no ranching, and no fracking. All we get are illegals coming across federal land to use our schools, hospitals, jails, benefits and take our jobs.

American Lands Council President Ken Ivory and Utah Speaker of the House Becky Lockhart have been asked to participate in a debate on the Transfer of Public Lands hosted by the Salt Lake Tribune. The debate will be held on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00 pm MST at the Salt Lake City Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. (That's 6:00 pm in Arizona.)

For those who live close enough to attend, the address of this debate is 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. The auditorium opens at 6, but the public won't be admitted until 6:15 p.m. with all attendees seated by 6:45 p.m. (the live broadcast will begin at 7 p.m.).

If you are unable to attend, Live streaming audio and video will be available at sltrib.com HERE. Please share this information with your contacts. This debate has already drawn national attention so this is going to be a tremendous opportunity to educate and get our message out!

Among the other debaters will be Former Clinton Administration BLM Director Pat Shea. You can watch a previous encounter of Ken Ivory and Pat Shea on TribTalk HERE.

9:45 am - Noon. American Lands Council Presents - Ken Ivory, president. North Scottsdale Christian Church, 28700 N. Pima Rd. Scottsdale 85266, N/W corner of Pima & Dynamite. No charge, but donation accepted. Ken will speak about how to get our Public lands transferred to us by the Federal Government, as promised!